Singing Sanctuary

Leo writes:

After Sundara and I had been singing Indian devotional songs for a few years, a niggle started to arise. What about songs in English? How could we find songs that were equally devotional but sung in our own language? We’d experienced that with the few Taize songs that we’d sing in English (they are mostly in Latin, and other European languages), and with gospel and some Harmonic Temple songs too. Sometimes singing in your own language can make the experience even more powerful.

So Sundara found some songs, wrote some songs, and I wrote the lyrics to some too. We’ve even adapted some pop songs we especially love.

Singing in one’s own language can be potent, but it can also bring stuff up. No-one likes being told what to think or feel, and some “new age” songs can be a bit “cringey” (as our teenage kids would say).

The songs we’ve found are (we hope) devotional without being didactic, heart-felt without being hammy. Just like the best devotional songs, they help you get out of your mind and into your heart. Like with our Kirtans, we sing them with the harmonium and guitar. You can make up your own harmonies, or just sit and listen. Some of the songs are so simple you don’t need to learn the words. For the others, we have song sheets.

For upcoming Singing Sanctuary evenings, see our events page.

See below for some of the songs that we sing.